Elastic fluid turbine arrangement



May 15, 1945. B, AR 2,376,212

ELASTIC FLUID TURBINE ARRANGEMENT Filed March 22, 1945 DRIVEN FROM TURBINE SHAFT Inventor: 6 ler'wn B. Warren,

His AttoPr-iey,

Patented May 15, 1945 v A p s V The present inventionrelates to elastic fluid turbine arrangements in which a turbine orlike elastic fluid engine isconnected to a source of elastic fluid:througha'throttlevalve and a stop valve. Upon shutdownit is'the practice to close ELASTIC FLUIDuTURBlNE ARRANGEMENT ilzGlnn B Warrefi yuna, N. Y., assignorlt'o' I C rporation of k '22, 1945, se ial 'Najssrm impede the efliciencyand the life of the turbine.

The object of my-invention is to provide an improved construction of elastic fluid turbine or engine arrangements whereby leakage of fluid into the turbine upon shutdown of the; stop and throttle valves'is substantially eliminated.

This is accomplished in accordance with my invention by the provision of means for removing leakage fluidfrom the conduit section between the stop and throttle valves upon shutdown of the turbine. This means is preferably in the form of a suction blower connected to saidconduit section and automatically placed in operation upon closing of the stop and throttle valves.

For a better understanding of What I believe to be novel and my invention, attention isdirected t the following description and the claims appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawing.

The single figrure of the drawing illustrates an elastic fluid turbine arrangement embodying my invention.

The arrangement comprises an elastic fluid turbine It] with an inlet conduit II for conducting elastic fluid to the turbine The flow of fluid is controlled by a throttle valve I2 and a stop valve [3 arranged ahead of the throttle 'valve l2 as regards the direction of flow of fluid therethrough. The throttle valve in the present example is controlled by a conventional speedgoverning mechanism Hl1-including a speed governor l5 driven from the turbine shaft and connected to a governor and follow-up lever 16. The latter is connected toa pilot valve IT for controlling the flow of operating fluid, such as oil, to a hydraulic motor l8 having a stem' lll with a piston connected to the valve l2 and to the lefthand end of the lever l6.- Piston 20 is biased to a position in which valve I2 isclosed by its weight and by a spring 20a.

During operation an increase in speed due to decreasing load demand causes. anti-clockwise turning movement'of the lever 16 about its lefthand end whereby the heads of the pilot valve J! are moved up to admit operating medium to the upper side of the. piston 2 ll; resulting indownward movement, ofthe latter andtclosing movement. of .the -.valve l 2 Downward: movement of the piston 20. causeswanti-clockwi'se turning movement; of. the lever it about its righthand end whereby. the heads (of 1;-they-pilot':xv.alve are-v reistoredto theircoriginal. position: relative to the pilot valve ports. Upon :"decreas'e inspeed the operation is similar except that the vario'uselements move in the opposite directioni'to cause opening of the throttlevalve. l2 and thereby to increase the flowerelastic fluidito the turbine. During. normal operation the-stop valve is in fully open p'ositiom gUpon shutdown both the throttle valve, andthe' stop valve are closed. Means are provided to prevent the a flow of ,leakage fluid passingthe stop valve from entering the turbine in case the throttle; valve is; also leakirrg. This means in the present embodiment comprises a suction blower 2l' having an inlet conduit with a normally closed valve 22 connected to a section 23 of the conduit between the stop and throttle valves. The blower 2| is driven by power agency, such as an electric motor 24, energized from a source of electricity 25 through a switch 26. Upon shutdown the motor 24 is started whereby the blower removes leakage steam from the conduit section 23. In case the coil 28 for actuating the valve 22. The relay 2'! has an operating coil 29 connected to the line 25 by a circuit including two contacts connected in series, a contact '30 in cooperative relation with an actuating member 3| secured to the valve stem [9 and another contact. 32 in cooperative relation with an vactuating member 33 secured to the stem of the stop valve l3. Upon closing of the two valves the contacts 30 and 32 are closed to close the circuit for the operating coil 29 and'thereby to cause closing of the switch 26 againstthe force of a biasing spring 34. The operating coil 28 for the valve 22 "is connected to an electric circuit which is also con trolled by the aforementioned contacts 30 and 32. Upon closing of these contacts by the actuating members 3! and 33 respectively the coil 28 is energized and causes the valve 22 to move into its lefthand end or opening position against the biasing force of a spring 35 connecting the inlet of the blower to the conduit section 23.

When the turbine is shut down, the oil pressure to pilot valve 11 is cut off andvalve l2 closes due to spring 20a and the weight of the ports. Valve [3 may be closed manually. Valves l2 and I3 are shown only diagrammatically. It will be understood that in actual practice any suitable valve arrangements may be used, the essential thing being that both valves are closed when the turbine is shut down.

Thus, with my arrangement, shutdown of the two valves I2 and I3 causes closing of electric circuits for operating the valve 22 to connect the inlet of the blower 2| to the conduit section 23 and for operating the switch to connect the drive motor 24 of the blower to a source of power.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. Elastic fluid engine arrangement comprising an elastic fluid engine having an inlet conduit with two valves therein arranged in series as regards the flow of elastic fluid therethrough, means to prevent leakage of fluid into the engine after closing of the valves including a suction blower connected to the inlet conduit between the valves to remove fluid therefrom upon closing of the valves, and means responsive to closing of both valves for operating the suction blower.

2. Elastic fluid engine arrangement comprising an elastic fluid engine having an inlet conduit with two valves therein arranged in series as regards the flow of elastic fluid therethrough, and means to remove fluid from the conduit section between the valves upon closing of the valves, said means comprising a blower having an inlet conduit with a valve connected to said conduit section, a motor for driving the blower, and means for automatically opening the lastnamed valve and actuating said motor in response to closing of the engine valves.

3. Elastic fluid turbine arrangement comprising a turbine having an inlet conduit with a throttle valve and a stop valve arranged in series as, regards'the flow of fluid therethrough, a suction blower having an inlet conduit with an electrically actuated normally closed valve connected to the turbine inlet conduit between the stop and throttle valves, a motor for driving the blower, and means for automatically energizing the motor and opening the blower valve upon closing of the stop and throttle valves, said means including an electric circuit with a pair of contacts arranged to be closed upon closing of the throttle valve and another pair of contacts connected in series with the first mentioned pair and arranged to be closed upon closing of the stop valve.

4. Elastic fluid engine arrangement comprising an elastic fluid engine having an inlet conduit with two valves therein arranged in series as regards the flow of elastic fluid therethrough, and means to reduce the danger of corrosion within the engine by leakage fluid passing through the valves into the engine after the valves are closed, said means comprising a normally closed valved conduit connected to the inlet conduit between the valves and means for automatically opening the valved conduit in response to closing of both valves to drain fluid from the portion of the inlet conduit between the valves.

GLENNB. WARREN. 

